Explorations of the smallest capital city in Europe, belonging to one of the smallest countries.
Go sky diving. Drive a race car. Take a cruise. Normal bucket list items.
Me: visit every micro-nation in Europe; Vatican City, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra, Liechtenstein, and Malta. Four down, two to go. Weird, I know. (As of 2023, 5 down, 1 to go.)
I’ve wanted to visit Malta for years, basically ever since I learned about this tiny nation. It’s just so tiny.
Google Look how tiny it is! It barely shows up on the map!
Malta has a fascinating history, a history that I will be exploring with the next few posts. A bit backwards actually. I saw Malta’s Neolithic temples last but the capital city of Valletta first.
Malta was at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, having been settled back in the Neolithic, then by the seafaring Phoenicians, then conquered by the Romans. The Maltese language stems from the time the islands were ruled by the Arabs. Maltese is the only Semitic language today that uses the Latin alphabet.
Eventually the Knights of Malta showed up in 1530 after being kicked out of Rhodes by the Ottomans, after being kicked out of Jerusalem first. Of course back then, they were still known as the Knights Hospitaller, or the Knights of St. John. They first settled in Birgu and then moved their capitol to Valletta in 1571. (They were later kicked out of Valletta by Napoleon and kept out by the British. They are currently in Rome.)
Valletta from nearby Sliema, where I stayed. Malta is so small you can see the entire country and never change hotel rooms.
Valletta was named after Jean de Vallette, the Grand Master who defeated an Ottoman invasion of Malta. The peninsula where Valletta now sits contained only a lighthouse when the knights showed up. They built Fort St. Elmo, and then, they built their capitol city.
Valletta is the smallest capitol city in the European Union, only 0.8 km sq. It’s a tiny tangle of streets, very easy to transverse on foot but surprisingly hilly. Most of the buildings are all made of the local sandstone, but the wooden windows and covered balconies are painted in bright colors. I couldn’t stop taking photos of those Maltese balconies. Different styles can be found in the different towns throughout the island but they sure like them wooden and covered.
Maltese balconies on Maltese sandstone. I love the half covered on the bottom.
Common in Valletta are these wrap around corner balconies. They just went all out on the blue on this building and just look at the detail on the balcony supports. They just don’t carve stone like that anymore.
Near the city walls, there are few newer buildings. I love these balconies. A traditional style with a little flair. This was built during the British days of Malta. After Napoleon left, the British ruled Malta, which is why English is widely spoken here.
You can still find British telephone boxes and postboxes throughout the country.
I do love this candy store that looks like a telephone box.
Back on track. The biggest attraction in Valletta is St. John’s Co-Cathedral. While originally built in the late 16th century with the rest of Valletta, the inside was redone in the Baroque style in the 17th. And boy, it’s fantastic.
The dome of St. John’s dominates the skyline of the city.
Don’t let the plain façade fool you.
This is one of the most beautiful churches I have ever been in.
The floors are covered in ornate marble tombstones, a Maltese tradition.
All the side chapels are covered in this amazing gold decoration.
Seriously, look at this. How can one place be this amazing?!?
Simply beautiful.
Oh, they are not just one, but two, Caravaggios! The Beheading of St. John the Baptist, 1608. Caravaggio spent a little time here hiding out. A bit of a fighter that one. (By the way, this painting is 12 ft x 17 ft (3.7m x 5.2m). It’s huge.)
Another great stop for Maltese history is the Grand Master’s Palace. While Malta was under the rule of the Knights of Malta, the Grandmaster was in charge. He fulfilled the role of the monarch of the day and had state rooms in a palace in the center of Valletta. Today, theses rooms are used for the same functions by the President of Malta. When the rooms aren’t being used for official functions, you can visit them as well. The palace has a fantastic audioguide that guides you through the history of the palace.
The Grandmaster’s Palace in St. George’s Square.
Even the palace has a fantastic Maltese balcony.
The Throne Room is fantastically yellow, with frescoes depicting various episodes of the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, when the Ottomans almost took over the island.
I like the very red and hard to photograph Ambassador’s Room.
There are paintings of people important to Malta’s history. The frescoes at the top depict the history of the Order of St. John (a.k.a the Knights Hospitaller, the Knights of Malta. They go by many names).
The palace also has the Armory where you can find these chaps.
Along the side of the Palace is Merchants Street, the main drag through Valletta and probably one widest streets. Lots of places to eat here.
Merchants Street starts at Our Lady of Victories Chapel, the first church and building completed in Valletta.
A very pretty little church.
Nearby is the Auberge de Castille, now the office of the Prime Minister, used to house the knights from Castile, Leon and Portugal. It was built in the 1740s.
One of the best views can be found nearby at the Saluting Battery. The peninsula on the right is Senglea and the fort on the left is Fort San Angelo, with the town of Birgu behind it.
A look back at Valletta. I just love all the sandstone buildings.
A quick stop in St. Francis of Assisi.
Valletta was just full of beautiful streets such as this one.
Valletta, Malta, was just spectacular. I wish I had more than just one day there. I needed more street wandering time, more balcony staring time. I know, I’m weird. However, I did cover a ton of ground in just one day. I visited St. John’s Co-Cathedral, St. Francis of Assisi, the city gate area, Our Lady of Victory, the Upper Barracca Gardens (where the harbor views were), the Grandmaster’s Palace, Manoel Theatre and the National Museum of Archaeology, in one day. Plus, a ton of wandering and ferry rides to and from Sliema. You can seriously cover a ton of ground in the tiny country of Malta.
Check out my next update where I explore the “Silent City.”
